The Attempt

I'm not working productively at all today. Whenever I finish some small task, it takes forever to get going again. I'm not sure why. Maybe blogging will kick me into chapter 11.

I did not take this nuthatch foto, but I saw real nuthatches this morning.

The Oddities

My beloved parents have an odd habit of not telling me when someone in the family is hospitalized or even deceased. Sometimes I find out months later that one of the ancestors has died or had a leg amputated or has been hooked up to an iron lung for the past six months. It's taken awhile, but the sibs and I finally have figured out how to deal with this family quirk. We no longer assume honored parents will forthcome with family news and we call eachother when we think news needs to be shared. When SisterWomantheYounger left a voice mail yesterday, I knew calamity was in the air. I called Father of the Year and after some wrangling he reluctantly disclosed, "Well we didn't want you to know this, but your mom's in the hospital." I call the hospital to talk to Mom and she begins our call with, "Now why on earth were you told about this?" Does anyone else think this is odd? Because I do. But Mom's coming home today and she's feeling fine, so all is well. And every family has their quirks I suppose. Thanks for the phone call, Faitho. We can beat these peeps at their own game.
Foto credit: Goodpal Menosky

The Plan

I finished section one of the three sectioned penultimate chapter this week. That required some celebrating at Bear's Place. Today it's back to grindstone land. I did take one short break last week to see the Girl Scouting in Our County exhibit at the history museum.

The Teeth

Teen Daughter is having her wisdom teeth removed today. I'll keep you posted.

The Heat

The borrowed office is working out well. Hot as blazes in there, but some pages have been written. Plus, there are fine restaurants and coffee shops right nearby. These professors have a good gig I tell you. If I had a fine office, I would be the most prolific writer in town. As it is, I'm on page 3 of chapter 10, so life is good. Even with regular email breaks, I got something done. I marvel at myself, I tell you, I really do.

The Fawn

This is our new pet. Don't worry, we're going to let him free as soon as we teach him how to fend for himself in the wild.

Foto credit: Sisterwoman

The Namesake

We saw this fine film last night. The characters are likeable and believable. The story is moving and sad and sweet. Great shots of India too. Teendaughter read the book last summer so she could fill us in on some plot queries. I think you will like it.

The Possibilities

I may have a page written of Chapter 10, but it could be deleted tomorrow. The work is disgruntling, but I'm hanging in there. It feels repetitive and obvious, everything I'm writing right now. But on the good side, as I drove out for some iced tea this afternoon, I'm pretty sure I saw either a bobolink or a northern shrike.

The Office

I'm going to borrow a friend's office this month. Maybe I'll get something done on the diss. I only really have 2 chapters left to write. One hard chapter and one not as hard chapter. So, if I can stop checking email, and stay away from that stack of magazines that keeps luring me over, I should get something done. Thanks, KR, for the office space. Cross your fingers one and all.

The Nap

I was happy to get a massage today, but here's the thing. After the massage, I had a nap. And I believe I've written before about what happens if I nap. The rest of the afternoon was nothing but morose crankerishness. I felt a little terrible about not working on the diss this afternoon, but I have to let that go and move on. I'm reading a Frank Smith book called Ourselves. V. good.

The Setterfield

The 13th Tale? I finished it last night. I liked it quite a lot. A moody old fashioned mystery. It's gotten me thinking about twins. I taught 2 sets of twins this year and they were best friends to one another. I feel I've really missed out on something being a single birthed person. But what can I do about it now? Next book will probably be Sam's new one, or maybe Sea of Trolls, or maybe Water for Elephants. I'll keep you posted. Summer vacation so far is suiting me fine.